Summary: Uther knew the day would come. He just didn't think it would come so soon. In which Uther writes in his last moments.
Marquess Uther was not a foolish man. In fact, he was quite brilliant, even if a little headstrong. Supposedly, it ran in the family.
However, he was extremely foolish about caring for his brother. It seemed as if Hector's happiness was the only thing the blue haired general needed. And it was.
Currently, Hector was off fighting a war with his best friends. He need not worry. Oswin, Matthew and Eliwood were there to protect him. To keep him in line.
And in the meanwhile, Uther was dying.
Oswin knew. But he- like everyone else at Castle Ostia- was sworn to secrecy. They were forbidden from telling Hector.
He refused to make Hector make that decision. It would break the boy's heart and Uther could not stand to be the cause of it. After all, the teenager meant so much more to Uther than the marquess' own life.
Hector deserved to have happiness. To have the chance to live. To marry and have children.
Uther didn't have a wife. He didn't have a lover. No, his one love had gotten engaged to another, but it didn't matter to him.
And so, here he sat. Writing a letter that would be sent to Oswin. He wished for Hector to understand.
Oswin.
If you receive this letter, I am afraid that I am now deceased. Do not disclose this to Hector, or to anyone else. Forgive me that you had to be apart of this secret. I am sorry that this had to be a secret. But Hector…
He is true to his own feelings… If asked to choose between his brother and the world, he would not hesitate in rushing to my side. Though he often speaks in anger, we are brothers. We are all we have. I have never doubted his affection. Yet what if the choise were between brother and friend? To choose one would mean abandoning the other. He would come to despise himself, whatever his choice. I cannot force him to make such a decision.
Forgive me Oswin, for my foolishness and my headstrong nature.
Forgive me for all the grief I must have caused you.
Uther.
Soon after finishing that letter, Uther had a violent coughing fit. And soon after that, he had fallen.
But his death had changed Hector. His brother had become more mature. And in a way, more enlightened.
But becoming enlightened would not bring a dead brother back.